Who You Are
by Indigo44
Summary: Aang is worried that he's not paying enough attention to Toph. Taang. Short Drabble.


Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Written in Aang's POV

Who You Are

By Indigo44

My feet landed on the ground much harder than normal. I was concerned, and because of that my airbending had been suffering. My other bending styles were suffering too, but air was still the most important to me. It was rare when emotions got in the way of my bending. I had endured so many agonizing emotions over the last decade that I was usually able to push aside bothersome thoughts and feelings.

This was different. I was concerned, about Toph.

I walked towards the house the two of us had taken residence in. It was in the middle of no where since Toph's idea of living in a city was similar to that of a prison or a zoo and I wanted a nice refuge in a forest when I wasn't away taking care of governmental fractures or criminal exploits. She must have felt it when I landed. She would have anyway but my ruff landing made my presence even more obvious. Any minute she would probably be out the door to greet me. And as if on cue the front door opened and there she was, with her beautiful smile beaming upon her face.

Gosh it was wonderful to be home. I continued to walk towards her and she toward me. She wrapped her arms around my neck, holding me tightly. I held her around the waist, returning the pressure. We didn't say anything for a while; it felt amazing to hold her in my arms again.

"Took you long enough," She whispered in my ear. She nuzzled her nose into my neck. "Three weeks."

"I know." I said. It's all I could say. I felt terrible leaving her here on her own, but it had been her own decision.

"Toph." I whispered, running my fingers though her black hair. She sighed slightly and broke away from me.

"Well come on, let's go inside." Toph grabbed my hand and pulled me into the house. It was the same as I had remembered it. Maybe I was being overdramatic; it had only been three weeks. At the same time those three weeks seemed to drag on with tedious meetings and debates among the Earth Kingdom Council.

Toph walked over to the bed and sat on it, her feet remaining on the ground so she could see. I walked over to her and got onto my knees. I held her hands in mine and looked up at her. She smiled down at and kissed me on the forehead.

"What's wrong, Twinkle-Toes?" She asked me. She knew me too well. I hadn't even told her something was wrong and she knew it.

"Do you…" I paused. "Are you alright with this?" She grimaced in confusion.

"Alright with what?" She asked, her tone a bit harder out of puzzlement.

I tried to think of the best way to approach this. "Me being gone." I told her. Her grimace deepened. "I've been gone so often recently, I worry that you're getting tired of it. I've worried that maybe I ought to stop for a while and stay here with you. I can stop, Toph. I can stay here and tell the Council that they need to take care of their own things." Toph's expression became blank. I took that as a sign that she wasn't convinced. "I know that when I'm here I'm usually out there training, not able to focus on you." I paused and swallowed. "I worry that you don't feel like I'm paying enough attention to you." Her expression didn't change. "Toph, tell me what you want, I will change whatever you don't like. I want you to be happy."

She pulled one of her hands out of my grasp and placed in on my face, with more tenderness than I had expected. Her eyes connected with mine. Even though she was blind she had a knack at doing that with me.

"You're worrying too much." She said sternly. I was taken aback. "Aang, you're the Avatar. I knew that you had these responsibilities. I was aware that you would be gone to 'save the world'. You come home and practice bending because that is what you're passionate about. You love bending. You go out to the different portions of the world and do your duty because it's who you are. You are a man giving yourself to the world. And if I may say it, that's pretty hot." She smiled at me and my heart began to lift. "If you stayed here and ignored the people who needed you, you would be a wreck because you're wouldn't be doing what you love to do. You would lose your passion, and you would lose your hotness." Her grin turned into a smirk. "Here's a wise little tip for you, Twinkle-Toes; a man without a job or hobby that he absolutely loves to do loses his luster pretty quick in a girl's eyes."

She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. I smiled. "Go and do your thing, Twinkle-Toes. Just be sure to come home sooner next time, or maybe…" She paused, thinking about something. "Maybe I ought to come with you more often." I laughed softly.

"I love you, you know that?" I told her.

"Yeah, I know."

The End


End file.
